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ABU DHARR
AL-GHI'FARI Radhia
Allahu Anaha
In
the Waddan valley which connects Makkah with the outside
world, lived the tribe of Ghifar. The Ghifar existed on
the meagre offerings of the trade caravans of the Quraysh
which plied between Syria and Makkah. It is likely that
they also lived by raiding these caravans when they were
not given enough to satisfy their needs.
Jundub
ibn Junadah, nicknamed Abu Dharr, was a member of this
tribe.
He
was known for his courage, his calmness and his far
sightedness and also for the repugnance he felt against
the idols which his people worshipped. He rejected the
silly religious beliefs and the religious corruption in
which the Arabs were engaged.
While
he was in the Waddan desert, news reached Abu Dharr that a
new Prophet had appeared in Makkah. He really hoped that
his appearance would help to change the hearts and minds
of people and lead them away from the darkness of
superstition. Without wasting much time, he called his
brother, Anis, and said to him:
"Go
to Makkah and get whatever news you can of this man who
claims that he is a Prophet and that revelation comes to
him from the heavens. Listen to some of his sayings and
come back and recite them to me."
Anis
went to Makkah and met the Prophet, peace and blessings of
God be on him. He listened to what he had to say and
returned to the Waddan desert. Abu Dharr met him and
anxiously asked for news of the Prophet.
"I
have seen a man," reported Anis, "who calls
people to noble qualities and there is no mere poetry in
what he says."
"What
do people say about him?" asked Abu Dharr.
"They
say he is a magician, a soothsayer and a poet."
"My
curiosity is not satisfied. I am not finished with this
matter. Will you look after my family while I go out and
examine this prophet's mission myself?"
"Yes.
But beware of the Makkans."
On
his arrival at Makkah, Abu Dharr immediately felt very
apprehensive and he decided to exercise great caution. The
Quraysh were noticeably angry over the denunciation of
their gods. Abu Dharr heard of the terrible violence they
were meting out to the followers of the Prophet but this
was what he expected. He therefore refrained from asking
anyone about Muhammad not knowing whether that person
might be a follower or an enemy.
At
nightfall, he lay down in the Sacred Mosque. Ali ibn abi
Talib passed by him and, realising that he was a stranger,
asked him to come to his house. Abu Dharr spent the night
with him and in the morning took his water pouch and his
bag containing provisions and returned to the Mosque. He
had asked no questions and no questions were asked of him.
Abu
Dharr spent the following day without getting to know the
Prophet. At evening he went to the Mosque to sleep and Ali
again passed by him and said:
"Isn't
it time that a man knows his house?"
Abu
Dharr accompanied him and stayed at his house a second
night. Again no one asked the other about anything.
On
the third night, however, Ali asked him, "Aren't you
going to tell me why you came to Makkah?"
"Only
if you will give me an undertaking that you will guide me
to what I seek."
Ali
agreed and Abu Dharr said:
"I
came to Makkah from a distant place seeking a meeting with
the new Prophet and to listen to some of what he has to
say."
Ali's
face lit up with happiness as he said, "By God, he is
really the Messenger of God," and he went on telling
Abu Dharr more about the Prophet and his teaching.
Finally, he said:
"When
we get up in the morning, follow me wherever I go. If I
see anything which I am afraid of for your sake, I would
stop as if to pass water. If I continue, follow me until
you enter where I enter."
Abu
Dharr did not sleep a wink the rest of that night because
of his intense longing to see the Prophet and listen to
the words of revelation. In the morning, he followed
closely in Ali's footsteps until they were in the presence
of the Prophet.
"As-salaamu
alayka yaa Rasulullah, (Peace be on you, O Messenger of
God)," greeted Abu Dharr.
"
Wa alayka salaamullahi wa rahmatuhu wa barakaatuhu (And on
you be the peace of God, His mercy and His
blessings)," replied the Prophet.
Abu
Dharr was thus the f1rst person to greet the Prophet with
the greeting of Islam. After that, the greeting spread and
came into general use.
The
Prophet, peace be on him, welcomed Abu Dharr and invited
him to Islam. He recited some of the Qur'an for him.
Before long, Abu Dharr pronounced the Shahadah, thus
entering the new religion (without even leaving his
place). He was among the first persons to accept Islam.
Let
us leave Abu Dharr to continue his own story . . .
After
that I stayed with the Prophet in Makkah and he taught me
Islam and taught me to read the Qur'an. Then he said to
me, "Don't tell anyone in Makkah about your
acceptance of Islam. I fear that they will kill you."
"By
Him in whose hands is my soul, I shall not leave Makkah
until I go to the Sacred Mosque and proclaim the call of
Truth in the midst of the Quraysh," vowed Abu Dharr.
The
Prophet remained silent. I went to the Mosque. The Quraysh
were sitting and talking. I went in their midst and called
out at the top of my voice, "O people of Quraysh, I
testify that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad
is the messenger of Allah."
My
words had an immediate effect on them. They jumped up and
said, "Get this one who has left his religion."
They pounced on me and began to beat me mercilessly. They
clearly meant to kill me. But Abbas ibn Abdulmuttalib, the
uncle of the Prophet, recognised me. He bent over and
protected me from them. He told them:
"Woe
to you! Would you kill a man from the Ghifar tribe and
your caravans must pass through their territory?"
They
then released me. I went back to the Prophet, upon whom be
peace, and when he saw my condition, he said, "Didn't
I tell you not to announce your acceptance of Islam?"
"O
Messenger of God," I said, "It was a need I felt
in my soul and I fulfilled it."
"Go
to your people," he commanded, "and tell them
what you have seen and heard. Invite them to God. Maybe
God will bring them good through you and reward you
through them. And when you hear that I have come out in
the open, then come to me."
I
left and went back to my people. My brother came up to me
and asked, "What have you done?" I told him that
I had become a Muslim and that I believed in the truth of
Muhammad's teachings.
"I
am not averse to your religion. In fact, I am also now a
Muslim and a believer," he said.
We
both went to our mother then and invited her to Islam.
"I
do not have any dislike for your religion. I accept Islam
also," she said.
From
that day this family of believers went out tirelessly
inviting the Ghifar to God and did not flinch from their
purpose. Eventually a large number became Muslims and the
congregational Prayer was instituted among them.
Abu
Dharr remained in his desert abode until after the Prophet
had gone to Madinah and the battles of Badr, Uhud and
Khandaq had been fought. At Madinah at last, he asked the
Prophet to be in his personal service. The Prophet agreed
and was pleased with his companionship and service. He
sometimes showed preference to Abu Dharr above others and
whenever he met him he would pat him and smile and show
his happiness.
After
the death of the Prophet, Abu Dharr could not bear to stay
in Madinah because of grief and the knowledge that there
was to be no more of his guiding company. So he left for
the Syrian desert and stayed there during the caliphate of
Abu Bakr and Umar.
During
the caliphate of Uthman, he stayed in Damascus and saw the
Muslims' concern for the world and their consuming desire
for luxury. He was saddened and repelled by this. So
Uthman asked him to come to Madinah. At Madinah he was
also critical of the people's pursuit of worldly goods and
pleasures and they were critical in turn of his reviling
them. Uthman therefore ordered that he should go to
Rubdhah, a small village near Madinah. There he stayed far
away from people, renouncing their preoccupation with
worldly goods and holding on to the legacy of the Prophet
and his companions in seeking the everlasting abode of the
Hereafter in preference to this transitory world.
Once
a man visited him and began looking at the contents of his
house but found it quite bare. He asked Abu Dharr:
"Where
are your possessions?"
"We
have a house yonder (meaning the Hereafter)," said
Abu Dharr, "to which we send the best of our
possessions."
The
man understood what he meant and said:
"But
you must have some possessions so long as you are in this
abode."
"The
owner of this abode will not leave us in it," replied
Abu Dharr.
Abu
Dharr persisted in his simple and frugal life to the end.
Once the amir of Syria sent three hundred dinars to Abu
Dharr to meet his needs. He returned the money saying,
"Does not the amir of Syria find a servant more
deserving of it than I?"
In
the year 32 AH, the self-denying Abu Dharr passed away.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, had said of him:
"The
earth does not carry nor the heavens cover a man more true
and faithful than Abu Dharr."
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